It looks like, for the moment, Utah might be having a little bit of winter. So while everything that's blooming is under a thin blanket of snow, lets take our attention to the often overlooked and attractive bark possessed by so many trees and shrubs within the gardens.

The Paperbark Maple can be found along the Floral Walk and in the Perennial Garden. The exfoliating bark looks nice when back lit with morning sun.

Winter time - with or without snow - presents a wonderful time to explore the gardens and see our ever expanding conifer collections. We have conifers in many locations in every garden within Red Butte. There are many new and unique varieties added each year and the best way to find out about them is to visit often and explore every garden.

It has been an interesting year, that's for sure. Everything is blooming later than normal and some blooming periods are lasting longer, but either way things are in full swing right now. You'll find these beauties as you walk through the garden.

Today was the perfect day for a hike in the Natural Area. With approximately 3 1/2 miles of trails to hike, Red Butte is a great place to come and escape the city for a while and see some cool native flowers.